All my agony fades away, when you hold me in your embrace
by Lia.ownsursoul
Summary: Elijah calls in a favor from some old friends while trying to figure out what happened to his brother. KlausxOC. Takes place after Season 3 but does not follow Season 4's story line.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Elijah calls in a favor from some old friends while trying to figure out what happened to Klaus.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of it's characters, and the title is a lyric from the song All I Need, by Within Temptation.

**A/N: **Hi there! This is my first TVD fic ever, and the first fic I've attempted in about a decade, so please bear with me. I've tried really hard to keep everyone as IC as possible, but I may have slipped up a few times. I should warn you, it takes a while to get to the romance part of the story. I'm still writing this, and I'm trying to build the OC family, and set the stage, so to speak. The first couple of chapters take place in the mid 1600s, then it picks up at the end of Season 3, but does not follow Season 4's story line. Reviews and constructive criticism are very much appreciated, flames are not. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it!

I.

Evil always finds you in the night.

Caitlin had known this truth her entire life. And now it was knocking on her door.

It mattered little that this evil was merely a plague on her village while she'd been away from home, learning her craft. Her aunt had sent her cousin, Connall, to find her and give her the news. It had started in the neighboring village, and had found its way to theirs, he told her. Then one of her sisters and her brother had gone to try to help, to try to heal the sick, and stop it from spreading to the rest of them.

And instead, they'd fallen ill as well. It was only a matter of time before the sickness made it through most of the village and to her parents and other sisters. Her entire family was dying and there was nothing she could do about it. She'd been a three day ride to the south, where she'd slowly been making her way for well over four months now, learning everything she could from the village's healer before she'd move on again, to another village, to learn more.

And now when it mattered most, when her family truly needed her, she wasn't there for them.

Her cousin had told her no one had survived the sickness yet. People were simply barring their doors, refusing to leave, for fear of catching it. Her aunt hadn't sent him to her for whatever healing abilities she'd picked up since she'd been gone. Her aunt had sent for her for the funeral. To bury her family.

But Cate wasn't the type to give up so easily. She knew there was only one thing that could save her family, and as much as she dreaded it, she wasn't going to sit by and let them die when she had a chance to save them. When you learn the arts of healing, and the secrets of nature, you often learn more than you ever could have imagined. You hear stories. Things that until that moment, she had always hoped were just that; Stories. Fairytales. But now, with her family's lives on the line, she could only pray that they were true.


	2. Chapter 2

II.

Finally Caitlin reached her destination, and she was terrified. Terrified that all of this would be for nothing. That instead of racing to her family to spend their last few days together, she'd come all this way to be laughed at for believing in such silly myths. Or that they would be true, but she'd get turned down or killed. Or even worse, that she got what she was asking for, but by the time she made it back to her village, her family was already dead and she'd be alone forever.

Gaining an audience with this lord, Elijah, hadn't been easy but she had always been a rather stubborn person, and the more defense oriented things she had learned in her craft came in quite handy. People were always more willing to listen or lend a hand when you could hurt them if they refused. She hated resorting to such methods, but she just didn't have time to waste.

As she was waiting for him to appear, Cate tried desperately not to think about what she was asking for. She knew her entire existence was about to change if these rumors proved true. Everything would be different. Everything she'd worked so hard for all these years she'd spent travelling & learning, all of it would be for nothing.

Nature didn't commune with the dead. And that's what she would be. Dead.

Before she could panic about that, or change her mind and flee, there he was. Suddenly directly in front of her, when he hadn't been just a moment before. Cate hadn't even heard him approaching.

Her first thought was that he didn't look like the demon everyone described when talking about what he was. What she would be, if he agreed. "You must be Caitlin. I am Elijah. I've heard you are looking for me."

He seemed so sophisticated, so confident. Cate was completely out of her element. She curtsied quickly, unsure how to reply or approach her request without making a fool of herself, but she truly didn't have time for idle chit chat. He seemed to understand that she was at a loss, and his lips rose into a small smirk.

"I've heard all about you. I've also heard you weren't so kind to some of my acquaintances," She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he held his hand up and continued before she could stammer out an excuse for her behavior, "What is it you hope to accomplish here, Caitlin?"

"My family, my lord. They are dying. All of them, they've been afflicted by some illness. Our entire village is afflicted, and my family-" she broke off as her voice broke. It was the first time she'd said the words aloud, and just the thought of losing them was too much for her to take. Her family was her whole life, and she couldn't lose them.

"And you've come to me? When your family is at death's door?"

"You have the ability to heal them! I-I must save them." Cate answered, hoping to impress upon him just how important her family was to her.

"You think I would travel all the way to Ireland to save a single human family?"

He was impossible for her to read, and while he didn't seem to be cruel, simply perplexed at her thought process, she couldn't be sure. "No," she replied, "I'm not foolish enough to ask for such a thing. But if you- you were to make me like you . . . I could do it myself. I could save them."

He stared at her for what she thought was far too long without some kind of response. She was quickly losing hope, and didn't know what to do next, where to turn, when Elijah finally spoke. "Do you even understand what you're asking for?"

"No, I don't. Truly. I just know that you can save them, heal them, because of what you are. And if I'm like you, I could save them too. That's all that I care about. If I lose them, I'll be all alone. My family means more to me than anything else. I would do anything to save them." All she could do was hope that somewhere in there, he had a heart. That maybe he'd once had a family that he loved more than anything, and could sympathize with her plight.

He stared at her once more, seemingly trying to decide if she was lying or not. Cate could understand his suspicion. There were evil people in the world, people who would relish and abuse the power that he wielded. She sincerely hoped that, because she had no desire to use such power, he would grant her request.

"You would give up your life for them? Those abilities you have now, you won't have those after this. You'll have to give up the sun, and food, and you'll have to see your friends and family growing old and sickly while you remain the same. You'll never have children. You would do this? To simply put off the inevitable? What would you do if you cannot heal them? Would you force them to become what you are?" She wasn't sure if she should take it as a good sign that he was speaking as though he'd already turned her, and she now how to face the consequences.

"I would die to save them. And if I cannot heal them, I would offer to make them what I've become, if they want it. I would never force anyone to become what you are, but if they chose to accept it and to survive, I would turn them. Will you turn me?" She was clutching her hands together now, hoping, praying, waiting for his answer. After another long moment, he sighed, approached her slowly, and lifted the sleeve of his shirt to his elbow, revealing the soft, smooth skin of his forearm.

"There is no changing your mind. There is no going back. Do you accept that, and any consequences?"

"I do," She answered immediately.

Cate watched as his face began to change. The veins around his eyes became dark and pronounced, his eyes turned red, and he had sharp and deadly fangs where only a moment ago, his teeth had been perfectly straight. Biting into his wrist, Elijah put his free hand on the back of her neck and gently pulled her close, raising his wrist to her lips. "Drink."

Refusing to think about the consequences, and picturing her family happy, healthy, and together in her mind, Cate placed her lips around the open cut on his wrist and drank deeply. She couldn't think about this, couldn't regret it. This would be her chance to save them. She didn't have any other choice.


	3. Chapter 3

III.

Jolting awake with violent, heaving breaths, Cate looked around wildly, trying to figure out where she was, and what had happened. It took a moment for everything to come back to her, and it wasn't until she calmed down a bit that she realized Elijah was holding her, making some sort of hushing noise that she supposed was meant to be soothing. Now that she had her wits about her she could admit that it was helping. Waking up after being killed wasn't an experience that was meant to be easy, she decided.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but Cate certainly hadn't expected him to still be there when she woke up, nor had she expected to feel exactly the same as she did before all of this. It had worked, right? Elijah proved to be excellent at reading her expressions, and laughed softly before explaining, "It worked. You need to feed on a human to complete the transition, and then you'll be a vampire. Then we'll go check up on your family."

Pushing herself up and off him, she turned quickly to look at his face. "You're coming with me? But you said-"

"Do you honestly think I'd allow a newly turned vampire to run off into the night by herself? So many things could go wrong. I'll go with you, help you with your family, and make sure you all make the transition if it's necessary, and then I'll leave. You were a loyal, determined, caring human. I think you'll do just fine as a vampire."

Cate really had no idea how to respond. Turning a bit shy, she took the hand he offered and followed along as he headed back towards the small village nearby. She watched as Elijah compelled a young man to follow them into the woods, where he bit into the man's wrist. Following his example, she once again placed her mouth on the open wound and drank from it.

It was incredible. She felt invincible. She felt strong, alive, awakened. As if she'd been sleep walking through her life, and Elijah had finally given her the power to wake up, and embrace it. She could tell just by the satisfied look he was giving her that he knew exactly what she was feeling, and she smiled in return. This was nothing like she had expected.

"Come now, you're running out of time, remember? We must hurry," he reminded her, and Caitlin was horrified that she'd been so caught up in the moment and the intensity of her transition that she'd forgotten about returning home immediately to help her family. Elijah took her hand in his again, and waited for her to compose herself. "Where?"

"Antrim." She didn't need to add 'Ireland' she knew. Her accent gave her away.

And just like that, they were off.


	4. Chapter 4

IV.

With Elijah's help and her new vampire speed, it took no time at all to get home, and she stopped short when they reached the edge of the village. Caitlin was horrified. This was the place she had been born, the place she'd grown up, and played with her brother and sister and cousins. And it was a ghost town. Many of the houses had been burned down, it seemed, after the owners lost their battle to the illness. Racing through the town, she stopped when she reached the door to her home, nearly ripping it off in her haste and forgetfulness.

But she couldn't enter. No matter how hard she pushed, there was an invisible barrier preventing her from getting inside the house. She could see inside though, and she noticed her sister, Branna.

"They have to invite you in. Vampires cannot enter the home of a human without an invitation," Elijah told her softly, standing just a few paces behind her, also looking into the small home.

"Branna! It's me! It's Cate! Please, you have to invite me in! I can help you! I can help everyone!" She called to her sister, begging her to say those magic words, and invite her in.

"Cate? Cate, why did you come back? You'll get sick, you have to leave!" the younger girl whispered, her voice hoarse, her throat dry.

"No Branna, you don't understand. I've found a cure, just invite me."

"Cate? Is that you? You came home. Come in, and help me with your sisters," her mother called, her voice too was very strained. But that didn't matter, because the invitation was enough and she was able to enter the house.

Hurrying over to her mother, she caught her gaze, "Mum, please invite my friend, Elijah, inside."

"Of course, come in, dear," she replied, and Elijah walked in after her.

"Mum, sit, please. I'm here now. I'll take care of everything. Who's the worst? Quinn & Siobhan? Connall told me they fell ill first. Where are they?" She hadn't realized she'd compelled her mother to sit until the older woman immediately sat back in the chair behind her. Her mother had never been one to let others tell her what to do.

"Yes, Quinn & Siobhan. They went to try to help the villagers, but they couldn't, and they got sick so quickly. It spread to everyone else. I got it last, I've been trying to help them, but I'm so weary, Caitlin. Branna is right, you should not have come home."

The house was small, so she didn't have to go far before she found her father, brother and other sisters. Elijah had followed her, and she looked at him, tears streaming down her face. "Will this work? Are they too far gone? Do I have time to wait, and find out?"

"I don't know, Caitlin. If you turn them, they will heal. But I don't know if your blood will be enough now, without turning them. If they'll have enough time," he answered, and her heart sank.

Sitting down beside her brother first, she shook him awake gently. "Quinn? Quinn it's Cate, wake up. I need you to drink this," she told him, grabbing one of his daggers and slicing her wrist open before forcing the wound over his mouth. "This will heal you."

He wasn't keen on the idea but he was too weak to resist and she laid him down before moving to her sister, Siobhan and repeated the process. They were both awake now, and looking at her with horrified expressions on their faces. She felt shame at first, but she knew that if she was given the chance again, she would not have changed her mind.

"This might not work. But I know something that will. I can make you like me. We can live forever, be a family forever. We'll never grow old, or sick, or have to watch each other die. I made a choice to save you. Will you choose to live, and spend eternity with me?" She knew her parents and other sisters heard this speech as well, and was thankful she wouldn't have to repeat it to each of them. Reaching out to take their hands, she waited for them to make their decision.

She kept her eyes on theirs but didn't miss Elijah walking behind them, and when Siobhan replied softly, "We will walk the night with you, Cate," Quinn nodded his agreement, and Elijah reached out quickly and snapped their necks.

She continued to cry as she walked to Branna & her youngest sister, Cassidy. Holding their hands, she smiled at them through her tears when they simply smiled and nodded, and she slit both wrists, offering them to them. Again, as soon as they were finished, Elijah was there behind them in a flash, and snapped their necks.

Looking to her parents, she heard her father sigh. "My little Cat," He started, and she immediately knew what his answer would be.

"No-" she started, shaking her head at him, but he put a finger to her lips.

"We know the sacrifice you have made for us all. But we are old. We do not need to live forever. Our children will be strong, you'll be together. This is enough for us. You will take your brother and sisters, and leave this place. Protect them, Cate. No matter how many lifetimes you live, or where your travels take you, you are their big sister." Seamus reached out to brush the tears from his daughter's cheeks, and kissed her forehead.

"This is not a life we wanted for you, but do not mourn us, my love. We are content, knowing our children are safe," Alanna pulled her into a hug, and Cate couldn't hold back her sobbing. She knew her parents. They wouldn't let her save them, no matter how hard she argued. They were going to die. "Burn this place as soon as your siblings are ready to leave. No one need know they did not perish from this plague."

Cate had a hard time imagining burning down the only home she'd ever known, but she knew her parents were right. If anyone knew her brother and sisters had survived this illness, there would be questions asked. Questions none of them were prepared to answer.

"They'll wake soon. They'll need to feed." Elijah announced, and Cate suddenly felt exhausted. She didn't know what she would have done without him. Her plan had been so simple at first. But she knew now, there was no way she'd have been able to finish it, to kill her siblings. It didn't matter that they would come back; she couldn't have snapped their necks like that. Elijah must have known from the beginning. She owed him so much. "You go find a human. I'll look after them."

Cate knew exactly what was going to happen as soon as she walked out of the house, but she knew it had to be done. She stood up and fled the house, using her new vampire speed to get herself as far away as possible. She found a nearby village, compelled a human, and hurried back. She knew Elijah would have taken care of it as soon as she was out of the house. Her parents would never have asked, but no one wanted to live with that sickness, letting it eat away at you slowly.

When she got back with the human in tow, she didn't spare her parents a single glance, knowing she'd break down again at the sight of their lifeless bodies.

Quinn woke first, much the same way that she did, gasping for breath and rocketing up, but Elijah was there, soothing him. Cate reached out and cradled his head, trying to help calm him down. Once he was fully aware of his surroundings, she brought the human to him, cut his wrist and forced her brother to drink. The three girls woke up soon enough, and the process was repeated until finally they were all awake and all had completed the transition. It was a lot to take in, she knew, and she was so thankful she hadn't lost them that she was actually smiling. Their parents had chosen their fate, and they would all mourn, but first, they needed to get as far away from Ireland as possible. Cate didn't want to risk running into anyone who might recognize them.

Elijah had sent the human on his way, and was waiting for one of them to start the fire and send their parents to their final rest. The five siblings stood there, hand in hand, watching as their home burned. Their lives would be completely different now, but Cate was sure it wouldn't be all bad. They were strong, they were together. She was confident they could survive anything now.

Finally she turned to Elijah, not sure what to say to him, how to express her gratitude, or how to go about their lives from this point forward. He smiled at her, and nodded slightly.

"What do we do now?" Quinn asked, and suddenly four sets of eyes were on her.

"Well-" She started, quickly trying to formulate some sort of plan for them.

"I think you should come with me. You need a place to rest while the sun is up, and I could use the company. Have any of you ever been to Bucharest?" Elijah announced, and Cate smiled slightly at his question. He knew none of them had ever left Ireland until she'd gone to find him.

She slowly turned her attention from Elijah to the others. "I think that sounds lovely. What do you think?" She asked her siblings. Just because she'd been the one to turn them didn't mean she was suddenly in charge. They were all adults, and could make their own decisions. But she wanted them to stay together. She hadn't become a vampire so she could turn her siblings, only to have them leave and never see each other again.

"Yeah, alright," Quinn answered after a moment, and the girls quickly nodded their agreement.

"Excellent. Bucharest it is," Elijah replied, and sped off. They all took one last look at their home, before turning and following behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

V.

"Where did she say we were going?" Quinn called to his sister. He was sitting at the bar, working on his third beer and trying to figure out where the hell they were and why. His sisters were always under the impression the less he knew the better. And this had been going on for far longer than he cared to admit. One would think they'd consider him an adult by now.

"Some place in Virginia," Cassidy replied, rather unhelpfully considering they were already _in_ Virginia, as she worked on a drink of her own. The other three, Caitlin, Branna & Siobhan had gone 'to the bathroom' about thirty minutes ago, and Cassidy was thinking they needed to hurry back. They often fed in turns, two or three at a time, while the others kept an eye on things but unless her sisters had had a hard time locating a couple humans to bite, they should have been back by now.

"Where are they?" Quinn asked, and Cassidy simply shrugged at him. Clearly he was noticing how long they were taking as well.

Chugging the rest of her beer, Cass stood up and knocked on the wooden bar top. "Wait here. I'll take a look around."

"Come on, Cass. Don't leave me too," Quinn whined but his sister ignored him. He was used to it. It wasn't easy living with four older, bossy sisters for nearly four centuries. "Fine," he muttered to himself as she walked away. "Can I get another?" He called to the bartender, waving his near empty bottle in the air.

Cassidy was slowly making her way to the ladies room, listening carefully for any sort of warning that things were not how they were supposed to be. And they certainly weren't. Her sisters weren't in the bathroom. "What the hell," she cursed, sniffing the air for anything unusual and leaving quickly. Looking out over the dim bar, she whistled to her brother when it was clear her sisters weren't there anywhere, and he turned at the noise. She nodded simply towards the door, and he downed the rest of his new drink and started in her direction.

They knew better than to leave together in case someone was out there waiting for them. Cassidy left first, now on high alert. This was anything but typical of her sisters. It never took this long, and it wasn't a good sign. Three 400 year old vampires should be able to handle themselves against almost anything.

The smell hit her as soon as she walked outside. Looking around quickly, Cassidy didn't see anything immediately but now knew there was a reason her sisters hadn't returned. Quinn came out a few moments later and she could hear him taking a deep breath, also noticing the unusual scent. "Hybrids," she whispered, and slowly walked in front of the line of cars in the parking lot, scanning the area as she did for any signs of struggle, trying to figure out where the others were.

At the end of the parking lot, they were standing back to back, protecting each other from anything that came their way, both now nervous about the state they'd find their sisters in. Cassidy whistled low, and softly, knowing if her sisters were nearby, and conscious, they'd hear her. Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and hearing Quinn do the same, they both immediately headed in the direction of the return whistle.

At least now they knew the others were alive. But the scent of the hybrids had her worried. There wasn't too much that scared a vampire but a werewolf, or worse: a hybrid, was something none of them had any desire to tangle with. Whatever Cate's reason for bringing them here, Cassidy was about to suggest they head somewhere far away. Somewhere like Australia seemed a good distance. Or maybe the moon.

It didn't take long for the three missing siblings to come into view. They appeared unharmed but Branna looked decidedly nervous. Siobhan & Caitlin were too busy snooping to bother looking their way, so Cassidy hurried over to Branna and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Bran only shook her head and raised her finger to her lips, telling them to be silent.

Cassidy wasn't exactly a patient person, and since Branna wasn't talking, she walked over to Caitlin and stuck her face right up against her sister's, attempting to see what it was they were looking at. Cate turned to glare at her, but Cassidy raised her finger to her lips, imitating Bran's earlier move and grinned when Cate rolled her eyes.

After what seemed an eternity, Cate was giving the signal for them all to back off. Quickly they all ran in the opposite direction, stopping a ways down the road, so that they were hopefully out of range of the hybrids. Who knew how strong their senses were? They didn't want to take any chances.

"So?" Quinn asked, looking back and forth between his sisters, "What were you looking at?"

"Hybrids," Branna answered, still whispering.

"Yeah, we know that much. Why are there hybrids here? Better question, why are we here?" Cassidy asked, sending Cate a pointed look. It had been her oldest sister's idea to come to this town in No-wheres-ville Virginia, and she wanted to know why.

"I believe you're here to see me."

Turning in sync, grins split across each face as they spotted the person standing behind them. "Elijah!" Siobhan cried happily, and they all took a step forward towards him. However, the scent of the hybrids clung to him like cheap cologne and it had them all stopping short.

Taking a protective stance in front of her siblings, Cate scanned the wooded area behind him, trying to determine if he was alone. Finally her gaze met his and she had no idea how to proceed. "Elijah?" He'd called her a few weeks ago, told her he was setting up a home with his family in a small town in Virginia, and wanted to see them again, wanted to know if they'd go to see him.

Of course she'd said yes. They never denied Elijah. He was sort of like a terrifying older brother, but one she knew they owed their lives to. She would never turn her back on him when he called her.

"I'm so happy you all made it. How long's it been since we last saw each other? Nearly 50 years?" Elijah approached them with a smile, holding his arm out and pointing in the direction of the bar they'd just come from. "My home is this way. And I've got a surprise for all of you." Before he could elaborate, he was gone in a flash. Cate watched as her siblings followed him, then sent a look towards the woods once more for any lurking threat before taking off after Elijah.


	6. Chapter 6

VI.

Why Virginia? That's what Cate wanted to know. A thousand year old vampire could go anywhere he wanted, do anything he wanted, _be_ anything he wanted. And yet Elijah and his family of Original Vampires had chosen _Mystic Falls_ as their home? Why not Paris, London or Rome? Hell, even New York or Los Angeles made more sense than Mystic Falls, Virginia.

However, she wasn't one to snoop. At least, not on Elijah and his scary family. She didn't want to know what Originals did to people they were upset with, so she would happily remain on the ignorant side of things, if that meant keeping her family safe.

When they arrived at Elijah's home, she couldn't really say she was surprised at what she was seeing. This wasn't the first time they'd seen one of Elijah's places and he & his family seemed to share a taste for all things elegant and expensive.

Of course she didn't blame them. She and her siblings had acquired quite a lot of wealth in the centuries after they'd been turned, but they preferred to remain a bit more out of sight than their friend and his family. Then again, they had it a bit easier, didn't they? The Originals weren't forced to spend their days inside and away from the sun the way Cate's family was. It eventually drew attention when no one ever saw you during the day, and rather than worry about nosy supernatural-obsessed neighbors, they rarely remained in the same place for longer than a few months at a time.

"Welcome," Elijah announced, catching her attention as he ushered them further into the house. He was watching them as they filed into a sitting room, and motioned for them to take seats.

Cate was a little on edge now. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Elijah, but she knew he cared for his family more than he cared for hers. Which didn't surprise her, but with the hybrids all over town, and his brothers and sister around here somewhere, she couldn't come up with a reason for him asking to see them. Until she knew exactly what was going on, she was going to remain a bit uneasy, and suspicious.

"I suppose you're wondering why I've asked you here," he started, and Cate smirked at him. Even after all this time, he didn't appear have any trouble reading her.

Though she hadn't been a secretive or deceitful person when she was human, and that had carried over into her vampire afterlife. She had no need to be. If she wanted something from someone, she was able to compel them to do whatever it was. No lying necessary, so she had never gotten better at hiding her feelings or what she was thinking. Fortunately, this was Elijah. It wasn't as if she expected him to exploit her inability to lie to or keep things from him. She'd tell him whatever he wanted to know.

Nodding at the Original, she was thankful when he sat down and got comfortable. If he was nervous, she would be extremely worried, but if he could relax, she took that to mean she could as well. "Unfortunately, I do have a specific reason for this long overdue reunion." He took a moment to look at each of them, as if apologizing after that statement. "I do have a gift for each of you, but they are somewhat self-serving." He gestured to a large velvet encased box on the table beside him and opened it slowly.

They all leaned forward to get a look inside and Quinn immediately leaned back when he realized it was jewelry. Cassidy raised an eyebrow in confusion while Cate, Bran & Siobhan gasped excitedly. They were far more into jewelry and gifts than she was, Cass decided and like Quinn, leaned back in her chair, unimpressed.

"Are those what I think they are?" Siobhan asked quietly. She seemed in awe, and that piqued her younger brother & sister's curiosity.

"What do you think they are?" Quinn wondered, looking back and forth between Elijah & his three oldest sisters.

"Daylight rings," Branna replied barely above a whisper, looking at Elijah with hope in her eyes. It had been so long since any of them had seen daylight or felt the heat of the sun on their skin, and if these pieces of jewelry were what she thought they were, she could imagine no greater gift. Not only had Elijah saved their lives and granted them immortality, he was giving them back the sun.

"Yes, they are. I thought it was past time the lot of you had something like these. And, you'll need them for the favor I'm going to ask of you." He stood up, and passed the rings out one at a time, carefully placing a ring in the palm of each of their hands. "What I'm going to ask could prove dangerous, but I can think of no one else to turn to. The five of you work together like a single unit, and I need people I can trust, people I know are comfortable with each other and won't fight or have any silly misunderstandings."

Clearly they were all intrigued, but after the gift he had just given them, they were finding it just a little bit hard to concentrate. They couldn't wait for the dawn. When Elijah cleared his throat to get their attention, they were all thankful he was still smiling, and not angry with them. They hadn't intentionally been ignoring him, it was just surreal.

"Will you help me?" That got their attention faster than anything else.

"Of course," Siobhan answered immediately, not even sparing her siblings a glance. She knew their answer would be the same as hers.

Elijah nodded quickly in reply and turned to look out the window into the darkness. Without turning back to them he finally said, "I need you to help me protect my sister."

They all sat up a little bit straighter at that piece of news. What sort of situation was Elijah in, that he needed to ask them to help protect an Original? They remained silent and waited for him to continue. They weren't kept waiting long.

"There are other vampires here. Nowhere near as old as my family is. Not even half as old as you are. But they've got a very powerful witch, a couple of the leaders of the town's vampire hunting Founder's Council, and a few baby vampires as well as a couple of humans. Most of the town are on vervain, whether they're aware of it or not. They had a hybrid, but I'm not entirely sure what's going on there. And my brother, Klaus, the Original hybrid, may be dead. We're not sure." He turned back to them at that point and could see the confusion on all of their faces.

"When an Original dies, every vampire that was turned by them, or of that blood line dies as well. We thought Klaus had been killed, but his hybrids live, these other vampires live, and he was the originator of their bloodline. This must mean he isn't actually dead. We just don't know what happened to him." Elijah could tell by the look on their faces that they were far too busy digesting the news that should he ever die, they would meet the same fate to care much about his brother's whereabouts. Fortunately, he wasn't as concerned with Klaus as he was with Rebekah for the moment.

"The problem I'm having now is, they know they are of Klaus' bloodline, which means they know killing Rebekah, or Kol, or me won't hurt anyone they love. And Rebekah is directly responsible for one of their loved ones becoming a vampire, and none of them are particularly happy about it. I expect them to retaliate. This is where you come in. They won't be expecting us to call in more vampires. They're unaware any of us are able to make friends or inspire loyalty. Though . . ." He gestured to the rest of the house, and the five siblings sitting in front of him knew exactly what he meant. His siblings weren't very good at the whole making friends thing.

"What would you like us to do?" Branna asked, ever the little mastermind, trying to decide a plan of action.

"We don't want them to know you're here because of us. I'll talk to Rebekah. Give every illusion that you hate us, or at least are indifferent. We need a reason for you to be passing through Mystic Falls. You'll need to find a place to stay. Try to pass for human as long as possible. The longer you can go undetected the better. I would suggest a couple of you enrolling in the high school. Possibly try to become friends with them, or at least compel as many students as you can to report back to you, and keep them off vervain. I can't imagine they're going to wait very long to retaliate, but they'll be so busy helping Elena adjust to being a vampire, that hopefully it'll give us a little time."

He fell silent and they all tried to digest what he was saying. They weren't new to blending in and flying under the radar. No one expected to find five siblings that were all vampires, and they looked far too much alike, with their fair skin, red hair and blue eyes for it to not be obvious that they were related. After a few moments Quinn finally spoke up, and none of his sisters were surprised.

"Why don't you just kill them? Surprise the witch and take her out next time she steps out of her house, and rip the hearts out of these vampires. Not that I mind helping out, or turning these idiots on their arses, but why bother going through all this trouble? Kill them all. Problem solved." Siobhan glared at him, while Branna sighed and Cassidy nodded her agreement. The youngest two of them were far more bloodthirsty than the other three.

"We're not 'just killing' anyone, Quinn," Siobhan informed him harshly, angry with him for even suggesting such a thing.

"This is Elijah's plan, we'll do it his way," Branna agreed.

"Quinn didn't say we weren't, did he? He was just asking _why_ we weren't. You have to admit, it is a lot easier. And Elijah and Rebekah are Originals. Anyone that tries to kill them deserves what's coming to them for being stupid enough to think they can take them on," Cassidy replied, defending their brother, and ignoring her sisters to look to Elijah for some sort of clarification.

"Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than that. I promised the human, Elena, that I'd protect her and her friends and then my sister tried to kill her and one of her friends, and instead turned her into a vampire. I now need to protect my sister and try to get Elena and her friends to let it go. This is where you come in. You can help me protect Bekah, while also being my secret eyes and ears, while I try to reason with them."

They all watched him as he gave them this new information, and knew there would be no killing anyone. Elijah was a man of his word, and if he'd promised this Elena girl his protection, he wouldn't go back on it unless or until someone actually tried to hurt his family. His reason for asking them here was quite clear now.

"Should we all enroll at the school? Can we pass for high schoolers? I've never tried before. Quinn & Cassidy could pose as twins?" Branna suggested, looking over her brother and sisters, trying to recall what human high school students looked like. When they were turned, Cate had been 25, Branna 22, Siobhan 21, Cassidy 18, and Quinn 17, but if they wore the right sort of clothes and make up, she was sure no one would really be able to notice.

"No. I think just Cassidy and Quinn. They can still pretend to be twins, but they can play at being seniors. The rest of us can learn the layout of the town, who knows what, who's on vervain, and find a place to stay," Cate countered, and they all quickly nodded their agreement when they spotted Elijah's slight nod of approval.

"It's settled then," He announced, and they all stood up, getting ready to leave. He showed them to the door, and waited until they'd run off to add a quiet, "thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

VII.

She really couldn't believe they were doing this. They'd had to compel about seven different people just to get enrolled into this stupid high school that neither of them even wanted to pretend to go to. The only good news was, they were sure to know just about everything that was being taught in schools today, so they shouldn't have too much trouble blending in as normal teenagers.

They'd made sure to have the exact same class schedule as each other and Rebekah and she knew that she was supposed to play dumb and pretend not to know them.

Knocking on the door to their new Level 1 English Lit class, Cassidy walked in when the teacher waved them in and was pissed she'd lost rock, paper, scissors to Quinn this morning, meaning she had to take the lead on all this school stuff.

"Uh, hey. We're new. I'm Cassidy Jameson, and this is my twin brother, Quinn. We're from Ireland," she added, not sure if this teacher was going to tell them to take a seat or make them recite their life story in front of the entire class.

"Obviously," Quinn muttered, rolling his eyes at Cassidy's last statement. It was pretty clear they were from Ireland, unless some of these small town idiots had never heard an Irish accent before. He smirked when he noticed more than a few of the kids in the class smirk at his comment and it was pretty easy to pick out the jocks in the room. He could easily blend into that sort of group. Pretend to be an athletic, egotistical idiot? Check, check and check. He got tired of standing there like an idiot and nudged his sister, nodding towards two empty seats in the back corner of the room. "Hey beautiful," he commented, nodding suggestively at Rebekah, "The accent do anything for you?"

She scoffed and replied, "Oh yeah. Jump starts my gag reflex."

"Ah. British. Never mind."

Cassidy shook her head at him and sat down, taking out her book and notebook, which opened to a page with pictures of everyone they needed to identify. Elena Gilbert, Jeremy Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore, Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett, Matt Donovan & Tyler Lockwood. Everyone else on their list was an adult or at least, not posing as a high school student, and Cate, Bran & Siobhan were in charge of taking their measure.

Classes passed quickly and Cassidy had been right; they did know all of this stuff already. She and Quinn split up at lunch, attempting to not look like a creepy set of siblings who never spent time away from each other, and also because Quinn should be able to connect to three of the four boys on their list, who all played for the school's football team, while Cassidy would have an easier time digging up dirt on the girls by compelling the rest of the school's female population to tell her everything.

As long as they kept their distance and none of their targets figured out they were vampires for at least a day or two, long enough for Elijah & Branna to come up with some plausible reason for a family of old vampires to randomly chose Mystic Falls as their new home, everything should be fine.

And while the youngest members of the family were spending their day at the high school, the other three were purchasing a house on the outskirts of the town.

Per usual, they'd found a totally random human from a few towns over, put the house in his name, compelled him to invite them in, forget the entire thing had happened, and to never invite anyone else in, speak of or return to the house again. Though this time they had to make him wait till Cassidy and Quinn got home, but this was to make the house safe for them. No one would know who the house really belonged to, so they couldn't just kill him to gain entrance, nor could they compel him to let them in, because he didn't actually live there, or even in this town. It was completely vampire-proof, with the exception of the five of them.

They didn't do this often, because they didn't want anyone to learn this little trick of theirs, but also because they rarely stayed in one place long enough to need to worry about that sort of protection. But it came in handy whenever they did.

They fed the human and compelled him not to leave till they gave him permission, before making their way to the Mystic Grill. Kol had informed them it was the only bar in the entire town, and basically the local hang out for people of all ages. Caitlin wanted to get a look at the people, Branna wanted to get the feel of the town and Siobhan just wanted Cassidy & Quinn to get out of school so she could make sure they hadn't killed anyone. Sending the two of them off alone was never her idea of a good plan but Cate wouldn't change her mind, so she'd reluctantly let it go.

Of the five of them, Siobhan and Branna firmly believed that harming humans was abhorrent and raised quite a stink when anything of the kind was suggested. Fortunately the five of them rarely had cause to kill anyone. While Caitlin cared little for what humans chose to do with their time, she wasn't one of those vampires who looked at them as food and little else. Quinn and Cassidy weren't quite as moral as their older sisters but chose not to hurt humans because it was simply easier than being constantly scolded by the pair of them for decades.

When they arrived Cate went up and ordered three beers for them, ruling out anything that wasn't opened in front of her, since Kol & Elijah had taken turns reminding her that the people of Mystic Falls put vervain in anything they could so they could catch vampires unaware. She'd been horrified when Elijah told her that most of the vampires in this town actually drank vervain, in order to build up an immunity, and suggested they all do the same.

Quinn had had another idea. "Let's just destroy the vervain," he'd suggested, refusing to add minimal amounts of the herb to his daily drinks. "Or better yet, why do these vampires stay here? Move a couple towns over where no one knows that vampires are real and live there?"

Elijah had shut him down quickly enough, and Cate knew she would have to try bringing up the vervain issue again later, after she let it sink in a bit. It didn't sound the least bit appealing, but if it would keep them safe, wasn't it worth it? She'd rather none of these other vampires or the police going around with wooden bullets be able to get the better of them.

Looking down at her watch, Siobhan sighed. Bran sent her a questioning look as Cate came back and placed the three beers on the table in front of them. "They should be here by now," Siobhan whispered.

"Cass & Quinn?" Cate questioned, shaking her head at her sister's suspicious nature. "They haven't killed anyone in almost two hundred years. And you know that wasn't entirely their fault. You need to let it go."

Her sister didn't seem to agree, but kept her mouth shut anyway. Thankfully, their wayward younger siblings arrived a little while later and the matter was dropped. Cassidy looked beyond irritated but Quinn walked in after her with a grin on his face, looking like he was the king of the world. A few other boys came in after him, laughing at something he'd said, and Cate resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Humans were so easy.

"Ladies," he remarked with a wink when he approached their table, before turning to his 'new friends', "These are my older sisters, Caitlin, Branna & Siobhan. These are some of my new friends from school. This is Matt Donovan, Jeremy Gilbert, Kyle Coffey and Jake Symons." He slapped Jake on the back before nodding towards the open pool table in the corner, "Who's up for a game?" The four boys followed along, laughing and joking and the four girls left at the table were quiet for a few minutes.

"Did you meet the rest?" Branna asked Cassidy after they each flipped through the images Elijah, Kol & Rebekah had sent to their phones.

"Most. The other Salvatore doesn't go to the school, then there's the mayor, the sheriff, and the Tyler kid that Elijah's curious about. We didn't see him at school, and no one there seems to know what happened to him," Cassidy explained, her voice hushed while she kept an eye on the door. The bar hadn't been too crowded when the sisters arrived, but it was only a matter of time before business started to pick up for the night.

"You and Quinn need to go home with Siobhan. Get the human to invite you in and send him on his way before anyone notices he was missing," Branna instructed while Cate tried to catch their brother's eye. When he finally noticed, she nodded towards the bathroom and watched while he excused himself. The other two caught up with him and left straight away, leaving Branna & Cate at their table, watching for the rest of the people they needed to get a look at. Hopefully, getting them settled in the house and the human well away from it wouldn't take more than a few minutes and they'd all be back before anyone noticed they'd been gone.

Branna quietly cleared her throat and Cate looked up slowly from her drink. The Salvatore brothers had just entered the bar, scanned the room and settled their gazes on them. Rather than approach them, they beelined for the bar, and sat down, ordered a couple drinks, and continuously let their eyes wander to the sisters' table.

It was far too difficult not to smirk, but Cate kept her attention on the door while Branna kept an eye on the brothers. Siobhan, Cassidy & Quinn returned soon after, and while the two sisters headed straight for the table, their brother nodded to his friends over at the pool table before walking up the bar and saying hello to Stefan.

"Bloody idiot," Cassidy muttered while the other three just watched.

"He really is," Siobhan added when Damon turned his attention from their brother to look at them again and tipped his drink in their direction before taking a long sip. They watched as Quinn grinned at them and wandered back over to the boys at the pool table.

Deciding it was time to introduce herself, Caitlin pushed her chair out and walked over to the bar, leaning on it till the bartender appeared, smiled at him sweetly and ordered another round of beers. She ignored the brothers, waiting for them to make the first move, like she knew they would. For such young vampires, they were awfully cocky.

"Your brother's an idiot," Damon announced, peering around Stefan to watch her reaction.

"Oh hello, it's nice to meet you too. I'm Caitlin," she announced with a smile, trying to measure the two of them up. "And you know, my sisters and I were just having this exact same conversation," she replied casually, watching him right back, wondering what his next move might be.

"Did you really think we were so stupid we wouldn't realize you were vampires?" He asked next, and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped then.

"No, of course not. We just didn't think you'd be stupid enough to comment on it this quickly." She paused a moment before adding, "If a group of vampires significantly older than me and mine suddenly moved to _my_ town, I'd do my best not to attract their attention. Apparently my sense of self-preservation is quite a bit stronger than yours. Must be all that vervain you're drinking." When her beers were finally placed on the counter top in front of her, she grabbed them and nodded to the Salvatore brothers. "Cheers."


	8. Chapter 8

VIII.

"I cannot believe you told them we know they're on vervain! What were you thinking, Cate?" Siobhan scolded her older sister while the others looked on from around their new kitchen table. They'd left the bar shortly after Cate had returned to the table and Siobhan was only just beginning.

"Why not? It makes us look mysterious and all knowing. They don't know we're friends with Elijah, so how the hell do we know how old they are, or that they're on vervain? It'll give us an edge," Cate countered, and Siobhan threw her hands in the air in exasperation, looking to the rest of them for help.

"I don't know, I don't think it's such a big deal," Cassidy told Siobhan, flipping through a magazine she'd stolen from their new neighbor's mailbox.

"Not a big-"

"We'll handle it," Branna interrupted before Siobhan went on a rampage. "There's nothing we can do now anyway." Sighing at the stupid arguing her siblings were doing, Branna attempted to get everyone back on track. "Is there anything we need to know about the kids at school?" She wondered, turning to Quinn & Cassidy.

"The witch seems sketchy to me," Cassidy announced.

"You think all witches are sketchy," Cate interjected.

"They don't do it properly! You had that gift, Cate, and Siobhan. Have you seen these humans playing at magic? It's a disgrace to the real craft." The sisters rolled their eyes. Cassidy had an issue with witches ever since they'd had a run in with one who hated vampires and had tried to take them out for no reason other than that. They hadn't even been in that village long enough to feed on a single human before the witch had targeted them.

"Properly or not, she's got some serious juju," Quinn added, "And I don't think that was Cassidy's only reason for finding her sketchy."

They all turned to their youngest sister for confirmation. "Well, remember that Tyler kid that no one knows anything about? I was watching the witch because she walked off into the woods alone during the lunch period when I was compelling some of the humans and I swear I saw her talking to someone who looked just like him. But she kept looking over her shoulder, like she was afraid of being seen. She couldn't have known I could see her from where I was." She shrugged at the end of her announcement, as if she wasn't sure what to make of it, and Cate immediately took her phone out.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked her.

"Texting Elijah. He'll want to know about that. We promised to keep him informed." She immediately deleted the text after it was sent, just like she'd deleted his name and number out of her phone earlier. They weren't taking any chances; if the Salvatores or their friends were somehow able to get a hold of their phones, they didn't want anything connecting them to the Originals.

"Okay, well I think we need to get a handle on this situation," Branna began. "As much as I'd love to turn their attention to us while Elijah gets them to agree to leave Rebekah alone, I'm not comfortable with us being their new targets. They were able to take out one of Elijah's brothers, and no one knows what happened to the other, what was his name? Klaus? The missing one? Whatever, for a couple century & a half old vampires, a couple baby vampires, a single witch and some humans, knocking out_ two_ Originals is pretty impressive."

"So what do you suggest?" Caitlin questioned.

"Siobhan & I go over there and try to talk. Maybe convince them we're after Kol and would be willing to help them if they help us, and get them to talk. Promise to get the hell out of Virginia and never come back if they help us," Bran continued, shrugging like this was something she was just making up as she went along.

"Like that'll be a problem," Cassidy muttered and Quinn laughed at her. She preferred large cities to small towns any day, and wasn't really the biggest fan of America in general. Europe and Western Asia were more her style.

"Fine, that sounds like a plan to me," Cate told them, nodding to Branna & Siobhan. "I'll text Elijah and make sure he tells Kol we're going to pretend to hate him, and then I'll go snoop around in those woods Cass saw the hybrid & witch talking in. Why don't you two go back to the Grill, or go get familiar with the town? The three of us spent most of the morning wandering around, learning the layout."

"Yeah, alright," Quinn sighed and nudged Cassidy, pushing her towards the door. Turning back to Cate he asked, "Plan to meet back here when?"

"By midnight. That gives us four hours. If we're not all back or haven't made contact by then, assume something bad has happened and text Elijah." They all left the house then, heading in opposite directions, hoping to get this show on the road.


	9. Chapter 9

IX.

Taking a deep breath, and nodding to her sister, who was standing against the stone wall beside the front door to the Salvatore home, Branna knocked loudly. As soon as she stopped knocking she too took a step back and leaned away with her back to the stone. They didn't want to risk anyone sneaking up on from behind or someone on the inside simply opening the door and blindly throwing stakes out into the night.

Thankfully Stefan answered the door, and they'd heard he was the less psychotic of the brothers. "Hello," he said, opening the door wide, but not inviting them in. As far as they knew, they didn't actually need an invitation because there were no humans living there, but they weren't rude, so they remained outside.

"Hi. I'm Branna Jameson, and this is my sister Siobhan. We were wondering if we could sit down somewhere and talk." Branna hurried out. She didn't fancy dragging this out any longer than they had to. These vampires weren't exactly vampire friendly. From the look Stefan was giving them she was beginning to think Quinn had the right idea about just killing them and being done with it. And she made a mental note to have Caitlin ask Elijah what sort of consequences there'd be if they had to kill any of them to protect each other.

"Who is it, Stefan?" Came another voice from inside the house and Damon quickly appeared behind his brother. "Ah. Raggedy Ann & Andy's big sisters. Whatever you're here for, we're not interested," he informed them darkly before spinning on his heel and marching off back into the house.

"They just want to talk, Damon."

"No."

"Damon."

"Look, it won't take long. We just want to get everything out in the open so there are no violent and unnecessary misunderstandings between our families," Siobhan called, though she knew Damon would have heard her even if she'd kept her voice normal.

"I don't think that's asking too much, Damon," a female voice said from inside the house, and Stefan nodded to them, stepping aside to let them in.

"Thank you," Branna replied, walking in first, Siobhan going in behind her.

They found Damon pouring himself a drink and standing behind the couch in the middle of the large room. Elena was sitting on the couch and Stefan went to sit beside her. "Please, sit." The sisters exchanged a look before taking seats across from the three of them.

"So talk," Damon ordered and the pair of them turned to him, eyebrows raised at his rude tone.

"Please ignore him," Elena said, turning to glare at him quickly before turning her attention back to the sisters. "I'm Elena Gilbert, and this is Stefan & Damon Salvatore, which I'm sure you know."

"Yes we do. But it's lovely to meet you. I'm Siobhan, and this is Branna. The two of you met Caitlin at the Grill earlier," she said to Stefan & Damon, and then turned to Stefan and Elena, "and I believe you both met Cassidy & Quinn at school today." She stopped there, and let Branna take over.

"I'm sure you realize Mystic Falls wasn't a random destination for us. With all the supernatural activity that goes on here, I doubt you believe in coincidences. My family and I are here because of Kol Mikaelson. And from what we've heard, you're currently not too thrilled with Rebekah. We'd be willing to help you, if you'd be willing to help us."

"However," Siobhan continued, "If you don't want our help, we just want to make sure we won't be getting in each other's way. We don't care what you do, as long as it doesn't involve our family. We don't intend to stay here long. We want to take care of Kol, and be on our way. We just don't want any trouble with any of you down the road. We're bound to run into each other. It's not a very large town."

"Why should we trust you?" Damon asked harshly, and though they were prepared for exactly that sort of response, it was a little disappointing that he was so painfully predictable.

"Don't if you'd rather not. We don't care either way. We just don't want to have to fight with you lot when our energy will be better spent ending Kol," Siobhan told them.

"Why do you want to kill Kol?" Stefan questioned.

"That's really none of your business," Branna countered, but Siobhan quickly placed her hand over her sister's, pretending to calm her down.

"Kol was directly responsible for killing Branna's human boyfriend, and some of our close friends a few months ago," she explained, thankful Elijah had undaggered the Originals from their centuries long confinement when he had, giving them a viable reason for wanting to kill his brother.

"Kol isn't the one that turned you, is he? Do you know that killing an Original will kill anyone in their bloodline?" Elena asked, and both Salvatore brothers looked at her like she was an idiot.

Raising an eyebrow and not replying either way about whether or not they already knew that, Branna shook her head. "Kol is not the originator of our bloodline. Klaus is, though very distantly." They'd decided on this lie for two reasons. One, they didn't want anything to connect them back to Elijah and reveal them as friends of his, and two, they didn't want these brothers to think eliminating Elijah would be a quick way to end all six of them in one go. The siblings already knew they wouldn't kill Klaus because they belonged to his bloodline.

"I don't trust you," Damon remarked again and the sisters chose to ignore him this time.

"But you won't have any problems from us. We'll leave you and your family alone, and Kol is all yours. We'll consider your offer of help when we can talk to the rest of our friends," Stefan informed them, and stood up. The girls quickly followed suit.

"Thank you, that's all we ask. Goodnight," Siobhan replied, nodding at Stefan & Elena. Branna smiled at them as well, and then they hurried off back to the house. They didn't want to spend any longer than they had to in the Salvatore house. Not when they had a potentially sketchy witch who could incapacitate them long enough for the Salvatores to stake them.

They arrived back at home first, and both checked their cell phones. "No new messages," Branna announced.

"Same," Siobhan replied.

"Well, hopefully no news is good news. It hasn't even been two hours yet. Want to go find Quinn & Cassidy and see what they're getting up to?"

"Why not?" They both grabbed their phones and jackets and made their way to the Town Center.


	10. Chapter 10

X.

Meanwhile, Caitlin was creeping her way through the woods behind the Mystic Falls High School, hoping to find something interesting. Unfortunately, these woods were rather extensive, and covered a lot more area than she'd been expecting. And not only that, but if this mysterious hybrid was hiding out somewhere, there was always the chance he wasn't anywhere near here, and had simply chosen this as a meeting spot so that the witch wouldn't have too far to travel from the school.

After over two hours of not finding anything, Cate was about ready to give up and call it a night. Of course, things always took a turn for the worst once you'd made up your mind about something. She heard a branch snap not too far off behind her and it wasn't until she spun around and saw someone standing behind her that the stench of a hybrid finally reached her.

Sucking in a deep breath while she tried to contain the fear she was feeling, she recognized the boy in front of her as Tyler Lockwood from the picture Elijah had given them. She reached in her pocket and sent Elijah a message that simply read, _Found Tyler. In woods with me now_, and hoped he'd hurry. This Tyler kid was giving her a very strange look; almost as if he recognized her, but his face quickly went blank again when he caught her staring.

Caitlin assumed she simply read his expression incorrectly, because there was no way she'd ever met this boy before. Though he was a hybrid, he was still just a teenager, and this was her first time to Virginia ever. "Are you Tyler Lockwood?" She questioned quietly, not sure if anyone else was here with him.

"Why are you here?" He countered, and Cate knew he wasn't going to make this easy on her.

"That's not important. You know there are a lot of people looking for you right now," she replied, trying to decide if she should just run now in the opposite direction and get the hell away from him before he could bite her. He was going through so much trouble to keep himself hidden that she doubted he'd give much chase if she did leave. But she desperately wanted to know what he knew, why he was hiding, and find out whatever she could about Elijah's missing brother.

"I think it's important," he announced and Cate pushed a hand through her hair in exasperation. This was not how this conversation needed to go.

"Look, are you Tyler or not? I need to know if you know anything about a hybrid named Klaus?" She was trying not to let anything slip about her relationship to Elijah, in case Tyler ended up back with his friends again soon. She couldn't risk blowing their cover, even if this kid didn't seem to want his friends to find him.

"Why are you looking for him?" he questioned, and Cate was sorely tempted to smash his head into a tree trunk. He was 18; she was 397. She could overpower him any day of the week, and he couldn't bite her if he was unconscious, or tied to a tree.

Sticking to the lie she & her siblings had come up with to keep the Salvatores from trying to kill Elijah to take them all out, she answered, "My family and I are of his bloodline, and we want to find out what happened to him. If we should expect to drop dead at any moment because he's dead, or if he's still alive out there somewhere. And you're his first successful hybrid. We thought you might know something." He looked at her with suspicion, but Cate didn't know what to make of it. He had no reason not to believe what she was telling him.

"Well sorry, I don't know anything," he replied, not sounding sorry at all, and continued to watch her closely.

"Well, thanks anyway. And why are you out here all alone? Is everything okay?"

He smirked at her for a moment before saying, "I'd be more worried about myself if I were you. All alone in the woods with the big, bad hybrid."

"Wow, you guys really believe your own hype, don't you? I'm almost four hundred years older than you, kid. I'm not that worried. Besides, my backup should be here any minute, and combined, the five of us are just shy of two thousand years. All you've got is sharp teeth." Not that that was at all true. She was terrified, and it was probably pretty obvious, but Cate could talk a good game, and right now she was just praying Elijah hurried his Original arse up.

Tyler grinned at her, but it was a rather menacing grin, and when he took a careful step forward Cate decided she'd waited for Elijah long enough. Casually pushing off the tree she'd been leaning against, she looked at him a moment. Opening her mouth as if she was going to say something, she took off as fast as she could in the opposite direction, trying to get out of the woods, hoping she'd caught him off guard and was faster than he was, or that he wouldn't give chase. She'd tried to stall and give Elijah enough time to show up, but she wasn't waiting any longer. That kid had seriously creeped her out.

She ran all the way back to the house as fast as her vampire speed could take her. Once inside she slammed the door shut and threw herself down in one of the chairs. After calming down a bit, she looked around and noticed the house was pretty quiet. "Guys? Quinn? Bran? Anyone?" She called out, listening for a reply. When she got none, she checked her phone. No messages, but it was only 11.

Quickly sending _Done. Where are you?_ to all four of her siblings, Cate waited for a reply. A few moments later she got two texts. One from Quinn that read _Grill. Coming?_ to which she quickly replied _yes_ to. The other she hadn't been expecting. It was from Elijah. _We didn't find him. Keep an eye on the witch. Thank you._

Deleting the texts to and from Elijah, Cate grabbed her jacket and started for the Grill. It seemed like everything had gone well, aside from losing the hybrid kid. Why not celebrate with a beer?

She never noticed the figure down the street, leaning against one of the houses in the dark, watching her.


	11. Chapter 11

XI.

The next few weeks went by without any problems. The Jamesons kept their distance from Elijah and the Originals, and kept well away from the Salvatores and their friends. They hadn't made any progress with locating Tyler again, nor had Elijah heard anything about his brother, but they were hoping it was only a matter of time before one, or both, made an appearance and helped sort everything out.

Cassidy continued to keep an eye on the Bennett witch, ensuring her siblings she still found Bonnie 'pretty sketchy' but didn't have anything to report beyond her sneaking out of her house and off school grounds at random times. Never for very long, and Cass hadn't been able to track her and watch what she was doing now that Bonnie was aware that they were vampires. Of course that complicated things, but they continued to keep an eye on her as Elijah had instructed.

"There's nothing fun to do in this town," Quinn complained while they sat together at a table in the Grill, watching the people of Mystic Falls. From the nervous looks Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood often sent their way, they assumed the Salvatores had informed the two women that they were vampires, but were also in the process of trying to kill an Original. It hadn't escaped any of them that should they succeed in killing Kol, if that had been their true agenda, the Salvatores & co. wouldn't hesitate to take them out immediately after. These people really needed to lighten up.

"Well we might be able to help you out in that department," Damon drawled, heading towards them from the bar. Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie & Elena were with him, and they didn't really look like they were there to shoot pool.

"Oh really?" Cate replied, watching as Damon pulled a chair up from the empty table behind him and sat himself down between Branna & Siobhan.

"Oh really," was his reply.

"We've got a plan, but we could really use your help. Five more vampires would provide a lot of strength, and double our number. We're going to take Rebekah out. And if the plan works, we should be able to use it to help you take Kol out too." Stefan explained quietly, scanning the crowd at the Grill when he was finished. The three girls stood behind him, and apparently had nothing to add.

"What's this plan, exactly?" Branna wondered. They'd need to alert Elijah immediately, but she figured it was a valid question. No sane person would agree to take on an Original before hearing out the plan of attack.

"I don't really feel comfortable explaining it at great length here at the Grill where anyone can hear us. Why don't we go back to our place, or your place, if you're more comfortable, and we'll talk? You don't have to say yes now but this probably isn't the safest place to talk about it," Stefan told them, and watched them all closely, looking for some sign that they were in.

Cate turned her head casually, trying to look at each of her siblings, and figure out what they thought about this. When she didn't notice any obvious signs of disagreement she turned her attention back to Stefan. "Your place is fine." She had no intention of telling anyone that vampires couldn't get into their house. They'd find out on their own if they ever tried to get in, and she wasn't about to give them the heads up.

They left shortly after, and the large group made their way to the Salvatore house. Once inside and seated, they all stared at each other for a few moments before Stefan finally cleared his throat. "So, the plan. The Original witch made another vampire; one whose life was connected to Elena's, so he wouldn't be immortal. She created him to kill the Originals, and rid the world of vampires. He died when Elena drowned and then became a vampire, but the weapon the Original witch made for him, which is the only weapon that can kill an original, we are now in possession of. He had it when he died, and Damon was there, trying to protect Klaus' desiccated body from him. So now _we_ have the stake."

The Jameson family shifted nervously after hearing this new information. Elijah hadn't mentioned any stake that could kill an Original. Of course none of them expected him to tell them everything but that was a rather important bit of news he'd chosen to leave out.

"What do you need us for, then? You've got the death stake, a witch, and four vampires," Cassidy questioned, knowing her brother and sisters were probably wondering the same thing.

"Four vampires nowhere near as old as the five of you. Plus, even with the stake, this is an Original, with two Original brothers that would very much like for her not to die. There's no such thing as too much strength when it comes to this sort of thing," Elena added, and her friends nodded their agreement.

"And the five of us are nowhere near as old as the three of them," Quinn muttered, pointing out the obvious. No one thanked him for it.

"Well we're hoping to catch Rebekah alone. Possibly on the way home from school, or at some point where Kol & Elijah are just not at home. We'll go in there, overpower her, Bonnie will give her one of her witchy migraines, and we stake her. Three Originals down, two to go." Damon replied, and Cate nodded her head quickly, allowing that it was a good plan.

"Wait a minute. Why can't Bonnie give her a 'witchy migraine' from the beginning? Then we won't have to overpower her at all? Problem solved?" Branna questioned, assuming Bonnie & the Salvatores had considered every option before coming to them for help, which meant there was a reason Bonnie couldn't take her out from the start, and she wanted to know what that reason was.

"It doesn't work like that. Rebekah is very strong. I won't be able to keep her down for very long, and if she's busy trying to defend herself against all of you, she'll be easier for me to take out, giving Damon more time to stake her," Bonnie explained and they all remained silent for a few moments, digesting all this new information.

"Well?" Caroline asked, chiming in for the first time.

They all looked at each other for a moment and nodded, so Siobhan turned to Stefan and nodded again. "We're in."


	12. Chapter 12

XII.

They left almost immediately after that and raced straight home. Cate was already in the middle of texting Elijah while they all sat around the dining room table, thinking. Her text was simple and to the point, _They're going after Rebekah. Probably soon. We need to talk._ She wanted to ask him about this all powerful stake and why he hadn't mentioned it before, but she also needed to tell him the Salvatores wanted to take out all three remaining Originals. She wasn't sure if Damon had deliberately let that slip or not, but Cate wasn't going to take any chances.

"So, what're we going to do?" Quinn questioned once Cate placed her phone back on the table.

"We're going to go along with their plan," Cate announced firmly. They couldn't risk the others finding out they weren't really on their side until they had no other choice. "Until Elijah or Kol show up to save their sister, and we suggest a retreat. Even all ten of us couldn't take on three Originals with just one witch and one stake.

"If neither of them show up in time, Quinn and Cassidy, you'll grab her and get the hell out of there while we distract them. That's our plan. Got it?" She waited for them all to agree before she went any farther. "We need to get the hell out of here. If this goes bad, they'll come after us before bothering to go after Bekah again. They don't need a fancy stake to kill us; any random bit of split wood will do the trick."

From the looks on the other's faces, she could tell they'd been thinking something quite similar. For the first time, Cate wished she'd chosen to ignore Elijah's request, and had kept her family far away from this place.


	13. Chapter 13

XIII.

"Showtime!" Damon said loudly, suddenly appearing behind Caitlin, Branna & Siobhan when the three of them were on their way back into town after feeding.

"What, now?" Cate questioned, shocked that he seemed completely serious. When they'd said 'soon', she hadn't realized they'd meant the very next afternoon. She hadn't even been able to talk to Elijah yet. Thank god she'd sent that text to give him the heads up.

"Yup, Caroline & Elena are following her and keeping an eye on things while Matt tries to distract her so Stefan and the twins get Bonnie into position inside the Original mansion. So here I am, getting the three of you so we can get this show on the road and be rid of another Original."

This was very, very not good. "I thought you said you were waiting for Kol & Elijah to be gone before you tried to attack her in her house?" Branna asked as the three of them followed Damon's lead. They weren't supposed to have been to the house before, and didn't want to slip up at this stage of the game.

"We were. Elijah & Kol left this morning and haven't been seen since. They're not in Mystic Falls as far as we can tell."

Bloody brilliant, Cate thought. Elijah had probably assumed they would need a few days to get this plan sorted before attacking as well, and now he was off god knows where doing god knows what with his brother, and Rebekah was about to get attacked. This was certainly going to be an interesting afternoon.

When everyone except Caroline & Elena were together at the house, Bonnie turned to the Jameson family. "You're all ready? You know what to do?" she asked.

"This isn't our first time, sweetheart," Quinn replied, winking at her and rubbing his hands together. "Bring it."

They all heard the front door open and close, and didn't move or make a sound, the entire plan centering on the element of surprise. Stefan had told them Caroline & Elena would be outside. They'd come in a few moments after Rebekah to distract her while the rest attacked her. Bonnie would come out when they had her under control & Damon would stake her.

Cate was still praying Elijah or Kol appeared and saved the day, but that was looking less and less likely, and she knew she & her family were going to have to save Rebekah and hopefully not lose anyone in the process. Fortunately, Quinn had been telling the truth. This wasn't their first time doing something like this, and Cate was counting on that past experience to save their arses today.

"Caroline? Elena? What do you want?" They heard Rebekah ask in that haughty tone she had, and waited just another second before they all came speeding out from where they'd been hiding. The Jamesons went after Rebekah first, having volunteered because they were far stronger than either Salvatore brother.

Branna grabbed her by the throat and Quinn got his hands around her waist. They didn't have an easy time holding her, and Stefan, Caroline & Elena stood nearby, in case she got free of them. Cate, Cassidy & Siobhan were positioned behind them, as extra muscle, and as a distraction in case either Original brother made an appearance before they finished with Rebekah.

She was currently spewing profanities and fighting for all she was worth, but the Salvatores had been right; The Jamesons had a fighting chance against her simply because of their strength and numbers. Bonnie appeared then, and Rebekah stopped mid-flail. She started screaming and clutching at her head and Cate knew this was it. If Kol or Elijah didn't appear within the next five seconds, it was up to them to save Rebekah.

When Damon came speeding out from his hiding spot she did the only thing she could do. She rushed him, aiming for the hand holding the stake. Spearing him around the waist, she was able to knock the stake out of his hand because he hadn't been expecting the attack, and pounded him into the ground, quickly snapping his neck and using all her speed to run into Caroline, throwing her against the wall to knock her out. Cate noticed Branna had basically done the same thing to Bonnie and just hoped the impact hadn't killed her. They just couldn't afford to let her use that spell on them.

Getting up quickly, she kept her attention focused on Elena while she surveyed the room. Siobhan had Stefan pinned to the floor, and Caitlin was just thankful Branna had been able to hand Rebekah off to Quinn & Cassidy, who had fled as soon as Cate took Damon down. Branna took control of Elena and Cate sighed, sparing a look towards Caroline, Bonnie & Damon, all of whom were currently on the floor unconscious, and hurried over to the witch, checking her pulse.

"She's alive," she announced, and turned back to Elena & Stefan. The looks on their faces said it all. "I'm sorry about all of this. We really had hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but you got in the way." Stopping to pick up the stake she'd forced out of Damon's hand, she nodded to her sisters and turned towards Stefan & Elena a final time. "Damon was right, you shouldn't have trusted us," she added quietly, and the three of them ran as fast as they could, trying to put as much distance between them and the Original house as possible.


	14. Chapter 14

XIV.

They met up in Annapolis, deciding that was far enough from Mystic Falls that they could relax for a bit and try to get in touch with Elijah. After compelling a human to let them in and then locking her in the bathroom so Rebekah wouldn't kill her, they all sat quietly in living room. The Original had ranted and raved at them for letting it get so close but the Jamesons ignored her for the most part. If her brothers hadn't disappeared on them, they could still have kept their cover as Kol-hunting, Salvatore-friendly vampires. Instead they were now at the top of the Salvatores' hit list, and that wasn't a place any of them wanted to remain.

She texted Elijah their current address and added _Rebekah is here. She's fine. _and waited for a reply. Rebekah could do whatever she wanted, but her family was staying in the house till Elijah arrived and got this all sorted for them. Cate wasn't taking any risks with the lives of her siblings.

It was another three days they were stuck in that house, only leaving once a day, two at a time, to go and find someone to feed on before going back to the house to sit around and wait some more. Finally on the fourth day, there was a knock on the door and Rebekah jumped up to answer it. Looking through the peep hole, Cate sighed with relief when she heard the telltale shriek of excitement from the blonde, and went to fetch the human from the bathroom to invite Elijah inside. When she noticed Kol standing behind his brother, she sent them both a quick wave and turned to the human. "Can our friends come inside please?"

"Yes, of course," the woman answered, and Cate turned to drag her back to the bathroom when she realized that not two, but three people had walked into the house. Spinning around quickly, her eyes widened in surprise and she froze, unable to move, to speak, to even think, as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Elijah and Kol stepped out of the way to let the third pass. Elijah was looking at her, as if trying to figure out what was going on, but she was in no state to explain. She was too shocked.

When the new person was standing directly in front of her, he grinned. "Hello, love."


	15. Chapter 15

XV.

_They'd been in London, in the 1700s, having quite a bit of fun at all the balls and shows the large city had to offer when she'd met him. There was nothing more exciting than a masked ball, and though Quinn wasn't particularly interested, Cate and her sisters had so much fun picking out their gowns and masks._

_They were just getting ready to leave for the night when someone approached her._

_"Would you give me the pleasure of your last dance?" he asked, the devilish grin he wore far too attractive for her to refuse._

_"It would be my pleasure, my lord," she replied, placing her hand in the one he offered, and completely ignoring her sisters, who began shaking their heads as soon as he'd arrived._

_They danced in silence for a few moments, simply staring into each other's eyes as they were the only thing visible through the masks, before he finally tried to engage her in conversation. "Your friends don't appear to like me very much," he commented, though he didn't seem at all phased by it. He continued to smile down at her as they spun around the room._

_"My sisters actually, and we're a very close family. They're just trying to look out for me." Cate answered, smiling back at him when she knew she really shouldn't be enjoying herself as much as she was._

_"Sisters? An entire family of vampires? How does that happen?" He wondered as if it was the most natural of questions. Immediately she tensed, and missed a step, her eyes widening at the fact that he knew they were vampires. His grin only widened. "I didn't realize how young you must be. Please, tell me the story of how your entire family became vampires. I'm sure it's quite interesting."_

_"I promise you it's not, my lord. I was turned, and I turned them so I would not be alone for an eternity and be forced to watch them grow old and die," Cate explained, as her family had decided many years ago not to tell anyone why they were really turned. It was never safe to let people know everything about you, they'd learned._

_"And who turned you? Where are they now?" He questioned, and Cate was suddenly very suspicious. Why did he want to know this? Why did he care? She was thankful the mask was still on her face, or she was sure he would have been able to tell exactly what she was thinking._

_"I do not know," she answered simply, hoping he wouldn't press the issue. As far as she knew, Elijah was also here in London, visiting his brother. That had been the reason they'd made this city their destination, but they hadn't run into him yet._

_"Well, whoever he is, I should like to thank him, for creating such a lovely creature." Before she could reply to the compliment, he continued, "The song seems to be coming to an end. Will you be in London long?"_

_"I'm not certain. We've only been here a few weeks, so I'm sure we'll stay a while longer, my lord."_

_"Excellent. I look forward to seeing you again," he told her, winking through his mask and kissing the back of her hand gently as the musician's finished and the dancing stopped. "And please, call me-"_

"Nik," Cate whispered, still having a hard time believing what she was seeing. Elijah seemed just as surprised.

"Caitlin, I wasn't aware you already knew my brother," He told her, and her eyes left Klaus' for just a moment to meet Elijah's.

"Brother? _This_ is your brother Klaus?" she asked, suddenly feeling a bit sick.

"Yes, my younger brother, Niklaus."

"Niklaus," she repeated, her eyes snapping back to his as if needing him to confirm what Elijah had told her.

"It's been a long time, Cate."

"As interesting as all of this may be, we're not here because Nik has a crush. We're here because the Salvatores tried to stake Rebekah and have that bloody stake Esther made to kill us all. What are we doing about this?" Kol questioned, forcing his siblings and hers to turn their attention from the awkward reunion Cate & Klaus were having to the more pressing issues at hand.

"Actually," Siobhan started, pulling the stake out of her bag and waving it in the air, "We have the stake. We're not amateurs, you know," She informed Kol, sending him a look that implied she didn't appreciate his assuming they hadn't handled everything.  
"No, not amateurs. You just waited until Bonnie knocked me unconscious and Damon was THISCLOSE to plunging that thing through my heart to try to stop them," Rebekah ranted. They'd already heard this from her, and assumed this new reenactment was for the benefit of her brothers. Cassidy rolled her eyes and Quinn glared at her.

"Did we save your life, or not?" He asked and if Elijah hadn't stepped in, Rebekah probably would have pounced at him.

"They never would have gone through with the stupid plan if you lot hadn't told them you'd help," she repeated, word for word, the arguments she'd given them earlier.

"We already told you why we did that. We needed them to trust us, so they wouldn't attack you without us knowing, and maybe do some actual damage. You're very welcome, by the way, for the five of us risking our lives to save you. No, really. Don't mention it," Cassidy replied sarcastically, and normally Cate would have been trying to get her brother & sister to calm down right about then.

However, she was still preoccupied starting at Klaus, trying to figure out if he was going to kill her or not to get involved in whatever her siblings were discussing. She was sure Branna and Siobhan could handle it.

"They're right, Rebekah. We should be thanking them, not arguing with them," Elijah instructed, and Rebekah rolled her eyes, refusing to say anything else. But Quinn & Cassidy didn't really need the appreciation. They were just glad she'd shut up.  
"So? What do we do now?" Kol asked, looking back and forth between all the people in the room, hoping to get them back on track.

"We'll get it sorted Kol. Give us a minute." Elijah instructed, and finally turned his attention to Klaus & Caitlin. Unfortunately, before he could ask any questions, Niklaus grabbed her by the hand and started pulling her towards the door. "Niklaus," he warned carefully, not sure what to expect from his brother.

"We're just going to talk, Elijah. We'll be right back." He answered, and Cate felt far more terrified than she'd been in centuries. Pulling her into a small wooded park, Klaus stopped in front of a large tree and backed her up against it, giving her very little room to run. "Now, where were we, Cate?" He took a moment's pause, as if stopping to think back, and tapped his chin gently. "Ah yes, I remember. London. 1745. We'd been having what I thought was a very lovely three weeks together, when I got called away for a few hours. Do you remember?"

Tilting her face up towards his with a finger under her chin, she nodded quickly when he stared at her for a moment, clearly not continuing until she played along. "You do. Excellent. So you'll remember that when I came back, you and your family were gone. Every gift I'd given you, all the clothes I'd bought you, all of it, left behind. And me." He paused again, looking at her face closely, and she remained silent, not sure what he was thinking or planning to do. "I searched for you, you know. For a family of young vampires, you were able to cover your tracks very well. I had to give up for a while, to focus on breaking that bloody curse, but I hadn't forgotten."

"I really hate to interrupt this touching moment the two of you are having," Damon announced from a few feet away, and Caitlin jumped at the sound. This was definitely not her night. "But we've got some unfinished business to discuss. And you," he said, pointing to Klaus, "are supposed to be dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Damon. Again," he added, smirking at the Salvatore. Pushing Cate away from the tree, he didn't take his eyes off Damon when he told her, "We're not finished. Run. Get Kol & Elijah."

She didn't have to be told twice. As soon as she got back to the house, she nearly shouted, "Damon, in the woods with Nik. You have to go help him." The three Originals left immediately and Cate turned to her brother and sisters.

"We're leaving. Now."


	16. Chapter 16

XVI.

"Leave the stake," Cate instructed, and her siblings looked at her like she was crazy. "The Salvatores can't get in here, but the Originals can. Hide it in the bathroom with the human, and I'll text Elijah once we're on our way to let him know. I'm not giving them any reasons to follow us."

"You mean any _besides_ 200 years ago you up and left the _Original hybrid _without so much as a note, and he doesn't seem too happy about it?" Cassidy quipped, glaring at Cate as Siobhan went to give the stake to the human and compel her not to leave the bathroom, invite anyone else into the house or make any noise.

"Well I didn't know that then, did I?" Cate growled back. "And that's not the point, we just need to get the hell out of here. Ready?" When the other four all nodded, they ducked out the back door and started in the opposite direction of the Original-Salvatore show down taking place a few short blocks away.

They didn't get very far before Caroline appeared in front of them, looking less than pleased. "Going somewhere?" she questioned, hands on her hips.

"Now is not the time to get in our way, sweetheart," Quinn drawled, looking between his sisters and the blonde. The five of them fanned out, knowing Caroline would never approach them all alone, but not sure what else to expect, since at the very least the Salvatore brothers were busy fending off the Originals. However, before anyone could do much more than turn at the sound of someone approaching quickly, Elena was there, and drove a stake deep into Quinn's back.

The four girls screamed their denials, the veins under their eyes darkening as their eyes went red with anguish and fury. Cassidy was the closest and rushed to their brother, pulling the stake from his back, picking him up and running right back to the safe house, assuming her sisters would be right behind her.

Before the other three could attack or follow however, they doubled over, screaming in pain and clutching their heads as Bonnie appeared. The girls nearly passed out from the incredible pain and when Matt & Jeremy appeared from behind Bonnie, they didn't have the strength to fight back as they were quickly gagged, their wrists and ankles wrapped in vervain soaked ropes and then thrown into the back of Matt's truck. The Mystic Falls group piled into the car and sped off, putting as much distance as possible between them and Cassidy & the Originals before anyone could figure out that was their plan.


	17. Chapter 17

XVII.

"I'm going to kill them. I'm going to tear them apart slowly, limb from limb and show them what happens when you touch my family," Cassidy announced while she paced back and forth in the living room of the safe house. Quinn, who'd finally healed and returned to his normal self, was sitting on the couch, his eyes following his older sister. He was just as upset as she was, but they dealt with their anger in very different ways. Cassidy ranted and raved, while Quinn silently plotted. He listened without interrupting, knowing she didn't actually want his opinion. She just needed to vent.

The door opened and Cassidy stilled, both of them turning as the Original family entered the room. They were all a bit bloody, but appeared to be fine. Their eyes scanned the room quickly and Elijah's gaze searched hers questioningly. Klaus didn't have his brother's patience. "Where is she?" he demanded, stalking over to Cassidy and staring her down.

He was one big bad she didn't want to get on the wrong side of, with him being a hybrid and all, but she'd never taken well to threats. Letting her temper get the best of her momentarily, she tipped her nose up at him, and simply replied, "She's not here," instead of explaining the situation fully. Before anyone could do something they'd regret, such as Cassidy getting herself killed because she was being an idiot for riling Klaus' temper, Quinn stood up quickly and cleared his throat, turning everyone's attention to him instead.

"None of them are. We got attacked, and Cass & I are the only ones that came back."

"Attacked?" Elijah asked quietly, and Cassidy chose to be an idiot again.

"Oh yes, your friend Elena. She had that blonde one stop us on our way out of town and then she shoved a stake in Quinn's back. She's lovely, isn't she?"

"Shut up," Quinn muttered, glaring at her. She was only making things worse, and she knew it. Fortunately, Elijah was too preoccupied with the missing Jamesons to care much about Cassidy's temper tantrum. He waved Quinn on, silently instructing him to continue. Kol had taken a seat on the couch across from them, and Rebakah had gone in search of the human. Klaus stood beside Elijah, glaring. "As soon as the three of you left to help Klaus, Cate told us we were leaving. She said to leave the stake with the human and she'd tell you it was there when we were gone. We hadn't gotten more than a block or so before Caroline arrived and we knew she wouldn't be alone so we spread out.

"Then Elena raced right to me, and before I even heard her, she got me in the back, like she said. Cass took the stake out and got us back here, where we were waiting for the other three, but they never showed up. We went back to look for them, but they were gone, and I could smell Jeremy & Matt along with Caroline, Bonnie & Elena."

"This is gunna be one hell of a fight," Kol announced, grinning from ear to ear, and it took all of Cassidy's self restraint not to slap the smile off his face. Her sisters could be dead, and he looked happy about it. She chose to ignore him, and looked to Klaus & Elijah, assuming they'd take the lead in some sort of smash and grab rescue mission. She couldn't really hide her confusion when Elijah didn't even spare them a glance and walked away with Klaus. She made to follow them, but Kol was there in front of her then, blocking her exit. "Uh uh uh," he said, still grinning at her and nodded to an empty chair behind her.

Scoffing, Cassidy retreated back into the room but refused to sit, choosing instead to resume her pacing, and strained, trying to hear whatever Klaus & Elijah were talking about outside. Plus, she really hated being told what to do.

Outside, Elijah was trying to figure out a delicate way to ask his brother what he intended to do next, without implying he was worried about some sort of massacre, but was surprised when Klaus erupted first. "That woman! If she'd just stayed put, like I told her," he started, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "They wouldn't be stupid enough to take them back to the boarding house. Anyone can just walk in there whenever they like. They'll have taken them to a human's house, or someplace we wouldn't think of."

He turned to Elijah, assuming his brother would be able to think of a few places they could start. Instead, Elijah was looking at him with suspicion. "And what are you planning to do after we find them?" He wondered, still unsure exactly what had happened between Niklaus & Caitlin.

"Chain her to wall, first of all. Then maybe I'll actually be able to finish a conversation with her," he remarked, only half kidding. "She and I have a lot to talk about. But that's not really what we need to be discussing right now, brother. First we need to get the three of them back. Then I can deal with her."

Elijah had to admit Klaus was right; the first thing they needed to focus on was locating the girls. Everything else could be handled after that. Thinking about the layout of Mystic Falls & everything he knew about the Salvatores and their friends, the only places he could think that they'd take three strong vampires they hoped to keep hidden and secret were the vampire dungeon below the police station, or the werewolf cells on the Lockwood property. Neither were safe from vampire attack but both could likely hold vampires for an extended period of time. "The cell under the police station or the old Lockwood property?"

Nodding quickly in agreement, Klaus headed for the front door when Elijah stopped him. Raising an eyebrow, Elijah said softly, "Whatever you've got in mind needs to wait until they're all safe. They only came here to help me protect Bekah and find you. We're not risking anyone's lives for your revenge." He didn't remove his hand from his brother's arm until Klaus nodded his agreement, and then they both went back inside to find the others.

"We think they'll have them on the old Lockwood property. No one would be around to hear if they made any noise, and it's big enough to hold the three of them," Elijah announced, but Kol cut him off before he continue.

"What about that old witch house? The one where Esther & Finn tried to kill us all? That's remote. And it's probably not somewhere they'd expect us to look." Elijah & Klaus exchanged a quick look before they nodded at him.

"We'll check them both out. They'll probably expect us at the Lockwood property, so we'll go to the other house first. Quinn, you need to stay hidden and out of sight. If they think Elena killed you when she staked you, that'll give us a bit of an edge, an extra person. We'll attempt to talk to them and reason with them, but if that doesn't work, we'll attack, grab the girls and get out. We do not kill any of them. Understood?" Elijah looked hard at Cassidy and after a few moments she finally rolled her eyes and shrugged, her version of yes. Quinn nodded then and they all separated, heading back to their homes in Mystic Falls.

Once they were alone in their house, Cassidy admitted she didn't particularly care for Elijah's plan. "I had a plan. I wanted to kill one person for each day they have them. Tomorrow I'll kill the quarterback. The next day, the sheriff & the mayor. Then maybe I'll kill the little brother and a couple of kids from the high school. Actually, I should compel them to go knock on the Salvatore's door, and then kill themselves as soon as the door-"

"You're not killing anyone and you know it," Quinn cut in, scowling at his sister. "Elijah would be furious. Plus, if we start killing their friends and family, what's to stop them from killing our sisters? Sometimes you just don't think."

Irritated at his dismissal of her plan, she left, heading out into the dark to feed. And if she couldn't kill anyone to send the Salvatores a message, she'd just need to send it some other way, she decided.


	18. Chapter 18

XVIII.

"Your sister is demented!" Damon shouted, storming into the basement of the old abandoned house Bonnie often used to tap into her witchy juju. They'd been sure to stick vervain into the three Jameson sisters, but they were still firmly cuffed to steel chairs, just in case. He and Stefan had just finished cleaning up the mess Cassidy left on their front yard and had immediately come to check on the sisters.

Caitlin peered at them through half closed lids and wondered if they'd elaborate. It would kill Siobhan & Branna to know Cassidy was out there terrorizing humans because of them, but at that moment, Cate couldn't find it in her to care. And she was glad, to be perfectly honest. It meant she didn't have to think about Quinn and face whether or not her brother was dead.

"She wrote us a note that said, I want my sisters back now, and shoved it in the hand of one of the girls that goes to the high school. Then she bit her, and compelled her to bring us the note," Stefan explained, but Damon cut him off before he could continue.

"Stefan's leaving out the best part! She did this to about 30 people! All random people from around town, all with the same note, bleeding from bite wounds on their necks. That isn't easy to clean up." The corners of her mouth tipped up as she smile at them, letting them know she completely approved of her sister's methods. The other two wouldn't, but she sure did. Cassidy's flair for drama was finally coming in handy.

Cate was just hoping her sister managed to find them, and soon. She'd heard Bonnie & Elena talking on the floor above the basement the day before, and didn't like their plan one bit. She assumed they thought she'd passed out from the vervain or that her senses were weaker from it, and she couldn't hear them, but she had. Apparently they were planning on Elijah coming to negotiate, or try to save them, and were going to use the same dessication spell on him that they'd used on Klaus. Then they'd offer to trade the three Jamesons to their unaware sibling for Esther's death stake, and stake Elijah, killing all of them.

The only good news was, Elijah had actually convinced the Jamesons to drink vervain in the time they'd been in Mystic Falls, and while they were no where near immune to the herb, the effects of it weren't quite as strong as the Salvatores thought they were. If the girls continued to act like the vervain had hit them as hard as it should have, Damon might not feel the need to dose them again straight away.

"So, we've decided to send her a message of our own," Damon informed them and Cate's heart sank. She didn't think they'd kill any of them, but she wasn't completely sure. And she couldn't think of any sort of 'message' they could send that wouldn't result in pain for her, Branna or Siobhan. Tensing a bit as he approached, her confusion cost her big time.

It wasn't until they'd already forced her hand to flatten out that Caitlin realized their intent, and she didn't have the strength or mobility to fight them off and clench her hand back into a fist before they could pull her daylight ring off her finger. 典"There we go. Three rings to send to your psychotic sister. Do you think she'll like them?" he wondered sarcastically and left, Stefan following after him.

That certainly made things difficult, but not as difficult as the Salvatores might have hoped. They had no idea the Jamesons hadn't had those rings for years, instead of just a month or so. They'd spent centuries operating only at night; Cassidy wouldn't have as hard a time of it as they thought. Now she just had to hope they actually sent the rings to their sister, instead of keeping them to themselves. It wouldn't be good if Cassidy found them, and just ripped the house down trying to save them only to have them burn instead.

If they survived this, Caitlin vowed, they would never be coming back to Virginia. Bloody miserable place.


End file.
